The anger of Beop Gye wasn't just emotional and personal. As the head of the disciples of Shaolin, his feelings transcended personal grievances.
"Now."
More than ever, he spoke firmly and forcefully, emphasizing his point to Hae Yeon.
"Are you saying you will disobey the orders of the sect leader abbot right here?"
Hae Yeon smiled at that.
"I don't know how to respond to that."
"…What?"
"As a Buddhist, I do whatever my heart desires, so how can you call it disobeying?"
Beop Gye's face contorted at those words.
"No matter how much of a Buddhist you are, you belong to Shaolin. Do you really not understand what it means to disobey the orders of the abbot and the consequences?"
"That is disobedience."
"…."
"And disobedience without a justifiable reason is punished by excommunication. Do you know what excommunication from Shaolin means?"
Hae Yeon nodded.
"Yes."
"You know it?"
"Yes, I do."
Beop Gye's eyes widened.
"A disciple who is excommunicated from Shaolin is subject to the punishment of severing the veins to their limb and destroying their dantian."
Hae Yeon's face turned slightly pale at the mention of it.
"If you destroy the dantian and cut the veins to the limb, you will never be able to use martial arts again. Even so, are you willing to commit the crime of not listening to the abbot and accept excommunication?"
There wasn't a bit of mercy in that voice.
Hae Yeon looked up at the sky for a moment. The abbot and Beop Gye were like those who gave him life. It wasn't easy to see such people showing disappointment and anger towards him.
However…
'If it isn't right, then that is also just an obsession.'
Hae Yeon lowered his head again with no more hesitation on his face. His eyes were calm and clear.
"If that is the law of Shaolin, and if it is the way to repay the favor I received from Shaolin, then I will follow it."
"You moron…."
This time, Beop Gye's face turned pale. He couldn't have imagined that Hae Yeon would respond in such a manner.
Cutting off his veins and destroying his dantian.
A cruel punishment that severed the veins of the hands and feet, broke the dantian, and destroyed the flow of qi and blood. Those who received this punishment would never be able to use martial arts again.
No, it was more than that.
Those who lost their power and could not use their hands and feet were worse off than ordinary people. Who could endure being unable to even hold chopsticks with their own fingers?
"Are you out of your mind! What on earth are you thinking…?"
In the end, when Beop Gye couldn't stand it and screamed, the abbot raised his hand to stop him.
"Abbot!"
Despite Beop Gye's urgent voice, the abbot quietly shook his head and tried to calm him. Then he quietly looked at Hae Yeon. His eyes were cold. It was clear that the reason he had stopped Beop Gye wasn't to favor Hae Yeon.
"I will ask you one thing, Hae Yeon."
Hae Yeon flinched slightly at the abbot's voice. But he quickly regained his composure and nodded.
"Yes, abbot."
"What is the reason?"
"…."
The abbot continued in a cold tone.
"Just follow me to Shaolin. You will be given many things then. Not only will you be the future of Shaolin as the abbot, but you will be the best in the world and have unparalleled glory."
"…."
"Then why do you insist on going against my words and opting for excommunication? Is there a reason that you can throw away everything you have cultivated so far?"
Coldness dripped from the abbot's eyes. It was hard to believe that he was looking at his disciple. When had Hae Yeon ever received such words and looks from the abbot?
But at that moment, a calm smile appeared on Hae Yeon's lips. Strangely, the abbot's words cleared up his confused mind.
He asked the abbot as if he was answering a question with Zen.
"What is all that?"
"… what is what?"
"It is all an obsession and yet still nothing."
"…"
The abbot's face stiffened as if he had never expected Hae Yeon to speak such words.
"The position of the abbot, the position of the best in the world, the greatest glory…"
Hae Yeon, who was quietly reciting those words, shook his head.
"Why?"
And he answered.
"Because I am a Buddhist and not a warrior."
"…"
"Since you said so, I think I understand my feelings more clearly. Abbot, why do you talk about glory? How can someone who walks the path of Buddhism have glory? The path that a Buddhist must walk is simply a path for sentient beings. How can glory be possible on that path?"
For a moment, the abbot looked at Hae Yeon, speechless.
"How great is the martial arts accumulated in this one body? Even if I have martial arts to touch the heavens, it is nothing more than saving one person."
"You…"
The abbot began to tremble.
Everything else could be endured.
But what could be more humiliating to him than receiving a preaching from a disciple of Shaolin?
"I am a Buddhist before a warrior. There is no Buddhist path for me to walk there, so how can you drag me away? Even if my body is in the heavens, if my mind is in hell, how can that be any different from hell?"
"… Hae Yeon."
"So."
Hae Yeon slowly nodded, with a profound expression, without a bit of doubt.
"If you have to take me away, do take me away. Even if I am kicked out of Shaolin and even if I have to lose my martial arts, the fact that I am a Buddhist won't change. Isn't that enough?"
Hae Yeon smiled and lowered both his hands.
He was obedient as if he wouldn't raise any resistance.
The one who was taken aback was Beop Gye.
Who was Hae Yeon?
He was a genius among geniuses who carried the expectations of being one in a thousand for Shaolin. Everyone expected that he would elevate the current Shaolin level by at least one tier. The future of Shaolin.
Wasn't it only because they allowed him, a disciple of Shaolin, to go on such an outing that went against their principles that Hae Yeon's growth became beneficial?
Now, such a person was saying he would leave Shaolin on his own, even abandoning the martial arts he had learned.
'Just why, though!'
It was something that his common sense couldn't understand at all.
Everyone in the world wanted to be a disciple of Shaolin. But the one who was the envy of them all was trying to kick away the path himself.
"You foolish child…"
A pitiful voice flowed from the mouth of Beop Gye, who should be stricter than anyone else. However, unlike Beop Gye, the abbot's eyes turned cold.
"Is that what you want?"
"Yes, abbot."
He glared at Hae Yeon without another word.
If it were another time, Hae Yeon's tantrum would have been laughed off. But now wasn't a good time. To the abbot, it seemed that his beloved disciple had chosen Mount Hua over him and Shaolin.
"Mount Hua has blinded your eyes."
"Mount Hua showed me my path."
"I shouldn't have sent you to Mount Hua back then."
"I am truly grateful that you sent me to Mount Hua back then."
"… till the very end."
A sharp look appeared on the face of the abbot.
A person who leads a sect must be extremely gentle, but sometimes, he must be extremely cold. If he didn't condemn the person who committed the crime of being negligent in front of the sect leader, the very laws of Shaolin would be shaken.
No.
'Am I angry that this child broke the law right now? Or am I unable to deal with the wounds of my pride?'
The abbot desperately shook off the delusion that had come upon him at that moment.
"Beop Gye."
"… Yes."
"I excommunicate Hae Yeon."
"A-abbot!"
"I will take charge of disciple Hae Yeon with the crime of going against the abbot, and take back everything he received from Shaolin. As the abbot of Shaolin's order, execute the sentence."
"A-abbot!"
Beop Gye, who couldn't bear to destroy Hae Yeon's martial arts, desperately tried to resolve the situation.
"This isn't Shaolin. This is Mount Hua! Abbot! Now Hae Yeon is… no if you must punish him, send him to Shaolin first…"
"How can there be a separate place for enforcing the rules?"
"… but."
"Or else?"
The abbot glared at Beop Gye as if he would pierce him.
"Are you saying that Shaolin should be mindful of Mount Hua even when doing their role?"
"That isn't it. How could I dare have such a wicked thought?"
"Then do it."
"…"
"Hurry!"
Beop Gye closed his eyes. If the abbot was being this resolute, there was no way to stop this.
'How did things end up like this?'
Everything was so messed up. The timing was bad.
'You idiot… you should have just run!'
Why did he have to show up in front of the abbot on his own feet? If the abbot had calmed down, there would have been another way to take.
Beop Gye opened his tightly shut eyes. The disciples of Mount Hua, who knew there was a commotion, could be seen slowly gathering. Perhaps what the abbot wanted was to show the power of Shaolin in front of them. But…
'If the price is Hae Yeon, isn't that too much of a loss to take?'
But, no matter what his true feelings were, he couldn't help but follow the abbot's orders. Beop Gye gritted his teeth and spoke to Hae Yeon.
"Sinner, kneel."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hae Yeon's knees touched the floor. Beop Gye forced himself to take reluctant steps and walked behind him.
"What is he doing?"
"Why is monk Hae Yeon doing that?"
The disciples of Mount Hua frowned and mumbled at the sight, but Hae Yeon was indeed a disciple of Shaolin. They couldn't step into the affairs of Shaolin.
In the meantime, a few quick-witted people who sensed something unusual began to run towards the sect leader's residence with all their might.
"Execute it."
Beop Gye held a small blade, his hand glowing with a blue hue. His hand, sharper than a sword, was poised to sever Hae Yeon's muscle tendons and shatter his dantian.
"Hae Yeon."
Unable to reach out physically, Beop Gye attempted to persuade Hae Yeon one last time.
"If you change your mind even now, the abbot will show mercy on you."
But all he could see was the resolute back of Hae Yeon, who shook his head.
"Elder, do not hesitate."
"…."
Beop Gye bit his lips tightly.
"What on earth did you see at Mount Hua to make you act so foolishly? What could be better than the teachings of Shaolin? It is just a strange delusion."
Hae Yeon responded calmly.
"I didn't really learn anything at Mount Hua. They didn't try to teach me either. What can I learn from those who don't want to teach me?"
"Then! Then, why are you doing this?"
"It is because I just realized."
"…realized?"
"Yes."
Hae Yeon, who was quietly smiling, said.
"What is the 'Altruism' that I couldn't find in Shaolin."
"…."
"I know that the path I was looking for is here, so why should I hesitate? If you truly care for me, please do not hesitate. That is the path for me."
Beop Gye closed his eyes.
As an elder of Shaolin, these were words he could not bear to hear. However, as a Buddhist, he could understand them.
'It cannot be helped then.'
It was sad that Hae Yeon disobeyed his words. But as a Buddhist, it was an unparalleled joy to establish his own Buddhist teachings. Beop Gye's heart burned black with those contradictory emotions.
But…
'…I am an elder of Shaolin.'
There could be no hesitation.
"A sinner…."
Beop Gye bit his lip.
When he looked up briefly, the abbot nodded.
"I will take back everything you received from Shaolin in the name of Shaolin."
"Ami…tabha."
The moment Hae Yeon's words ended, the sharp blade of Beop Gye struck Hae Yeon's ankle.
"ACK!"
"MONKKK!"
The disciples of Mount Hua screamed in unison.
Those who could never have imagined such an event rushed forward, kicking the ground in a hurry, but it was already too late for them to reach him.
"NOOO!"
At the moment Beop Gye was about to cut Hae Yeon's ankle—
Kakang!
With a loud noise, Beop Gye recoiled, taking a few steps back. Just as his hand touched Hae Yeon's ankle, a sword qi flew from somewhere and knocked his hand away.
"How dare you!"
This was a Shaolin matter. Who would dare interfere with Shaolin's affairs?
When Beop Gye turned his head in confusion and anger, he saw a person approaching him.
Mount Hua's Sword Saint.
He was sheathing the sword he had drawn and was advancing toward them.
"Who."
Chung Myung growled.
"Dared to let something like this happen on Mount Hua?"
"…."
"Answer me, you damn morons."
The anger he unleashed began to sweep across the area.